How do I know I'm transgender?

Identifying as transgender means the way you feel about your gender identity does not match the gender you were assigned at birth. Unfortunately, society does not always recognize that gender is fluid, and determined very differently from person to person. Babies are born decked out in blue or pink depending on their assumed gender. Is that the way it should be? We think that gender should be determined by you.

A persons gender identify refers to their deeply felt sense of being female, male, or something other, or in-between.

Being transgender is very different than identifying as gay, lesbian, or bisexual. LGB (lesbian, gay, bisexual) refers to sexual orientation. The 'T' (transgender) In LGBT refers to gender identity. Don't worry; many people are confused by this!

Let's break it down further…did you know that people who are comfortable with the gender they were assigned at birth are referred to as cisgender, or cis? (Pronounced sis-gender or sis).

Also, some people don't feel completely cisgender or transgender. They may identify as genderqueer. Genderqueer means that you do not identify or express yourself as completely male or female, you may fall somewhere in between. However, some people who identify as genderqueer feel very much apart of the transgender community and may or may not identify as transgender.

Here are some questions you can ask yourself to help with figuring out your gender identity:

Do you think the gender you were assigned restricts the way you live or the things that you do? What about the clothes you wear?

Was the gender assigned to you the one you feel most comfortable with?

What is gender? What makes a woman a woman or a man a man?

Do you feel forced to act in certain ways because of your gender?

You may now be asking "what now?" At some point you may want to take action in regards to your gender identity concern. You may want to talk to someone…IYG is here to help. We even have a gender variant support group that meets twice a month. Check out the activity calendar.

You may decide to experiment with dressing in clothing that is opposite of what society considers appropriate for your gender assigned at birth. We want you to stay safe! We accept you for you, but unfortunately not everyone is as accepting. IYG is a great place to try out different ways of expressing your gender. Many youth who come to IYG identify as transgender or genderqueer.